A steel cutting ceremony has been held for the yet-to-be named P&O Cruises ship being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard.
P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow, Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein and managing director of Meyer Werft Tim Meyer all attended the ceremony in Papenburg, Germany.
The ship is due to be delivered in 2020.
Weinstein said: “This is the first time in 20 years that P&O Cruises has had a ship built by Meyer Werft.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to the first stage in the life of this ground-breaking vessel.
“Meyer Werft has an enviable track record of producing genuinely innovative ships which also deliver tremendous levels of operational efficiency.”
P&O Cruises will announce the name of the new ship on Thursday May 24 at 4pm on the company’s Facebook page.
P&O Cruises ran a competition last year, inviting members of the public to suggest a suitable name for the ship.
More than 30,000 submissions were received with a judging panel making the final decision.